In August 2021 I went on a month residency in the small town of Ålvik in Hardanger on the west coast of Norway. It was located in a large building that had been former offices to an old local industry - Elkjem. A family lived on the top floor, they were artists and ran the facilities. I got a room on the third floor to live in and a very nice studio on the ground floor. There were a big kitchen, workshops and a lot of other spaces as well. There were four other artist resident at the same time Otto Tveit, Bente Tømmerås, Eleanor Clare and Dillan Marsh. Eleanor and Dillan had a small child so they were traveling a bit back and forth but I got to know Otto and Bente really well during my stay.
Going there and going home
The plan was to produce two large works that I wanted to show a my upcoming exhibition with Buer Gallery in Oslo. One was Ellipse Pace over twelve panels and the other was Murmuration over eight panels. I rented a van for the whole period, bought the materials in Oslo and brought them with me. In the end I had to complement it a bit from a local wood shop.
My studio space
I managed to almost complete both works but I had to do the last layer of filler for the Ellipse work at home. The panels dried very slowly in the moist climate.
Production of Murmuration
#368-75 Murmuration | Buer Gallery
Production of Ellipse Pace
#356-67 Ellipse Pace (Arches) | Buer Gallery
Besides from working I did some sight seeing in the areas around the compound, I got to swim in the deep fjord and see some art in the nearby town of Øystese where they have a nice art space called Kabuso. I also did a trip to Bergen to visit my daughter who just moved there to study.
Here is some pictures from my stay. I really enjoyed my time there!